Early Neolithic Diet in Scandinavia: Evidence from Frydenlund

Rethinking the Role of Grinding Stones

At the Early Neolithic site of Frydenlund, Denmark, archaeologists have unearthed clues that challenge traditional assumptions about how ancient farmers used grains. Despite uncovering grinding stones and over 5,000 charred cereal grains—barley, emmer wheat, and durum wheat—researchers have determined these tools were not employed to grind grain for bread. Instead, evidence points to a diet that included porridge or gruel, alongside foraged plants, nuts, berries, roots, and meat.

One of the 14 grindings tones that archaeologists found while excavating a 5,500 years old settlement on the Danish island Funen. A new study reveals that the stones were not used to grind cereal grains. Credit: Niels H. Andersen, Moesgaard Museum

“We found no signs of cereal grinding on the stones,” says archaeobotanist Dr. Welmoed Out from Moesgaard Museum. “Instead, the starch grains came from wild plants, suggesting other uses for these tools.”

This finding highlights a nuanced picture of how early farmers in Scandinavia interacted with their environment and resources during the Funnel Beaker Culture, which flourished from 4000 to 2800 BCE.

The Funnel Beaker Culture and Its Culinary Practices

Named for its distinct funnel-shaped clay vessels, the Funnel Beaker Culture marked the spread of agriculture into Northern Europe. Its people cultivated crops, kept livestock, and supplemented their diet with foraged foods. The settlement at Frydenlund, located on Funen island, yielded one of the most significant collections of grinding stones and grain remains in the region, offering researchers a unique glimpse into the era’s food preparation techniques.

Previous interpretations often assumed grinding stones were used for making flour and bread—a staple in later farming societies. However, this study, led by researchers from Denmark, Germany, and Spain, offers a different perspective.

Analyzing the Grinding Stones

The team analyzed the stones using phytolith and starch grain analysis, cutting-edge techniques for identifying microscopic plant remains. Surprisingly, they found no traces of cereal grinding. Instead, the few phytoliths and starch grains present originated from wild plants, ruling out the cereals found at the site.

Microscopies of four types of archaeological starch granules from different grinding stones from Frydenlund, magnified 400 times (the white bars represent 20 μm), each photographed in both plane-polarized (left) and cross-polarized light. The starch type shown in image a resembles starch from a grass subfamily of the Panicoideae type; the others are unidentified. Credit: Cristina N. Patús, HUMANE, Barcelona.

“The grinding stones we examined lacked wear marks typically associated with grinding grain,” explains Dr. Niels H. Andersen, a senior researcher at Moesgaard Museum. “Instead, they appear to have been used with pestles to crush plant materials, more like a mortar and pestle.”

A Diet of Gruel and Foraged Foods

The results align with findings from other Northern European sites suggesting early farmers favored cooking grains into porridge or gruel rather than baking bread. This dietary choice likely reflected the available technology and cultural practices of the time.

In addition to grains, the people of Frydenlund consumed berries, nuts, and roots, complemented by meat and water. Interestingly, there is no evidence of beer brewing in Denmark during this period, suggesting that fermented beverages only became common during the Bronze Age.

Broader Implications

While the Frydenlund findings support previous hypotheses, the researchers caution against overgeneralizing.

“This study focuses on one site,” notes Dr. Andersen. “Applying these methods to other Funnel Beaker Culture sites may yield different results.”

The study highlights the importance of integrating advanced scientific techniques into archaeological research to uncover the complexities of past societies.

Collaborations and Future Directions

If you're curious about what the settlement on South Funen looked like in the early Neolithic period, here's an informed guess in the form of a model displayed at Moesgaard Museum. Credit: Niels H. Andersen.

The research was a collaboration between Moesgaard Museum, Aarhus University in Denmark, Kiel University in Germany, and the Spanish National Research Council (IMF-CSIC) in Barcelona. These findings open the door for further studies on food preparation and resource use in Neolithic Scandinavia, offering fresh insights into the daily lives of early agricultural communities.

Related Research

1. Bogaard, A., & Jones, G. (2007). Neolithic farming in Central Europe: An archaeobotanical study of crop husbandry practices. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 16(3), 157–166. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-006-0073-8

2. Fuller, D. Q., & Stevens, C. J. (2019). Between domestication and civilization: The role of agriculture and arboriculture in the emergence of the first urban societies. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 28(3), 263–282. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-019-00732-3

3. Whitehouse, N. J., & Smith, D. (2010). How low did they go? Modeling Neolithic land-use and its impact on woodlands in Northwest Europe. Antiquity, 84(325), 926–939. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00067034